The present invention relates generally to work tables and more particularly to an inclined work surface with a movable tool mount and counterbalancing system.
There are several types of supporting tables that have been suggested for the use of tools, with these tables providing support for these tools on the surface of the table or by connection to the underside of the table. Typically, these tables comprise a flat, generally horizontally extending top, which is supported by legs. The top of a supporting table typically has an upper planar surface which supports the item to be shaped and an under surface to which the tool may be attached. These horizontally extending tables require a large amount of floor space in order to be installed, thus drastically reducing the available work area. Furthermore, these tables typically require disassembly in order to relocate them from one room to another due to restrictions of, for example, the size of a doorway.
By inclining a supporting table the resulting floor footprint of the table is dramatically reduced when compared to that of a horizontal table having the same surface area. By inclining the supporting table, however, the tool which may typically be manoeuvred on a plane parallel to the surface of the supporting table, will be operating at an inclined angle. A gantry on a horizontal working table typically supports the weight of the tool being used, however this support is decreased if the working table is inclined.
As a result of the inclination of the table, the required applied vertical force in order to translate the tool in a vertical direction will be increased, while the applied force required for horizontal translation of the tool will remain relatively unchanged. Thus there will be a variation in the required applied force necessary to move the tool, depending on the direction of the translation. This variation in the applied force may result in unsteady movement of the tool resulting in uneven shaping of the item being prepared.
Typically, in order to reduce the applied force necessary to move an object vertically, a counterbalance system is incorporated into the apparatus. A typical method of counterbalancing an object is achieved by the suspension of a weight using a pulley mechanism such that this additional weight counteracts the weight of the object. This technique requires a plurality of varying weights providing a means for the adjustment of the counter weight enabling the counterbalancing of objects of varying weights. U.S. Pat. No. 5,806,245 describes the use of this method as applied to the opening of a lift gate. In this example the counterweight was adjusted such that the full weight of the lift gate was compensated enabling the user to easily move the lift gate in a vertical direction.
Furthermore, pneumatic means have been used, for example, to open and close gates, doors and windows, for example. U.S. Pat. No. 5,806,245 also describes a pneumatic means enabling the opening and closing of a lift gate, with the volume of the air within the system being controlled by a switch operated by a user. The force created within the pneumatic means is transmitted to the lift gate by a conventional pulley system. As the air volume within the pneumatic means increases the gate will rise and as the air volume within said means decreases the gate will lower. This pneumatic means was used to open and close the gate only and the pressure within said pneumatic means is not regulated to compensate for the full weight of the lift gate enabling the user to easily move the gate in a vertical direction.
This background information is provided for the purpose of making known information believed by the applicant to be of possible relevance to the present invention. No admission is necessarily intended, nor should be construed, that any of the preceding information constitutes prior art against the present invention.
An object of the present invention is to provide a work table having tool counterbalancing means. In accordance with an aspect of the present invention, there is provided an inclinable apparatus for use with a tool, comprising: an inclined work surface which is substantially planar and is supported by a frame having a base; a gantry movably attached to said work surface and having two ends, a longitudinal axis and extending within a plane parallel to the work surface; a movable tool mount slidably attached to said gantry for removable attachment of the tool wherein the tool mount and the tool have a combined effective weight; a first movement means attached to one end of said gantry for translation of the gantry over said work surface; a second movement means attached to the tool mount for translation of said tool between the ends of the gantry; and a weight counterbalancing means operatively associated with said tool mount for neutralising the combined effective weight.
In accordance with another aspect of the invention, there is provided an inclinable apparatus for use with a tool, comprising: an inclined work surface which is substantially planar and is supported by a frame having a base; a gantry movably attached to said work surface and having two ends, a longitudinal axis and extending within a plane parallel to the work surface; a movable tool mount slidably attached to said gantry for removable attachment of the tool wherein the tool mount and the tool have a combined effective weight; a first movement means attached to one end of said gantry for translation of the gantry over said work surface; a second movement means attached to the tool mount for translation of said tool between the ends of the gantry; and a weight counterbalancing means operatively associated with said tool mount for neutralising the combined effective weight, wherein said counterbalancing means is connected to the gantry such that the gantry and counterbalancing means translate over said work surface as a single unit.